


XY's Muse

by night_fallz



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Bashing, Alya Césaire Is The Best, Alya Césaire Ships It, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Classmates Bashing (Miraculous Ladybug), Classmates Redemption (Miraculous Ladybug), F/F, F/M, Fluff, Good Friend Alya Césaire, Good Friend Nino Lahiffe, Jealous Lila Rossi, Kinda, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi Lies, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is Over Adrien Agreste, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Is a Sweetheart, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug is Called MDC, Nino Lahiffe Ships It, Protective Alya Césaire, Protective Nino Lahiffe, Social Media, Uncle Jagged Stone (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28942557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/night_fallz/pseuds/night_fallz
Summary: (Based off of a prompt on Tumblr)After the events of Silencer, Marinette notices XY looking down. She remembers all the hurtful things Bob Roth had said about him in front of live television. She knows what it's like feeling all alone so she decides to approach him.This is crossposted on both my Tumblr and Wattpad account.I swear that this story is a bit better than the description. Give it a chance.
Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Luka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/XY
Comments: 86
Kudos: 510





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> XY’s age was never verified in Miraculous but I have always seen him as a teenager who was thrown into fame because of his father. So, for the sake of this AU, XY is 16 years old and Marinette is 15 years old.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette feels bad for XY and has a conversation with him.

_**uploaded on 01/16/21** _

Marinette was just standing around, enjoying the music that Kitty Section was playing when she noticed XY sulking in the corner. Marinette couldn’t help but feel her face soften as she remembered the words his father, Bob Roth, said about him.

His _talentless_ son. That's what Bob Roth called him. _Talentless_. Marinette might not like XY or his music. And she definitely did not agree with the method he used to obtain his music. But Marinette knows how he feels. She knows what it feels like to be humiliated in front of everyone, feeling like no one is on your side.

After all, this was the first year that Marinette actually had friends next to her. And it was all thanks to Alya. Marinette remembered how horrible and crushed she felt whenever Chloe did something against her. And she would hate it if other people felt the way she did. Even if that person did something horrible towards her. 

Of course, the only exceptions were Hawkmoth and Lila. 

So without even thinking about it, Marinette summoned her inner Ladybug and made her way towards XY.

Marinette smiled as she sat down in the seat next to him. "Hi, I'm Marinette." She paused before asking. Are you alright?"

Xy looked at her, surprised. He opened his mouth, about to say that he was fine. But stopped. He knew that he needed to talk to someone. So he muttered, "Not really." He faced the blue-haired girl, "I just can't believe my dad said. I know that he didn't know that he was on live TV, but he called me talentless. Do you know how much it hurts to be a musician, then be called talentless?"

Marinette slowly nodded. "I'm not a musician but I do want to be a fashion designer. It's a really competitive business and some people are brutal." Marinette frowned, wondering whether she should continue or not.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to, you know," XY said, "I did steal your guy's song and costumes."

"Yeah, I know," Marinette frowned, her blue eyes studying him. "But I have a pretty good feeling that your dad made you do that." Marinette folded her arms and glared at him "Even though that's not a good enough excuse to take credit for something that other people worked hard on."

XY didn't say anything for a couple of seconds before playing with his hands nerveously. "For what it's worth, I really am sorry."

Marinette stopped glaring at him "I know." She said softly, "Plus, people do crazy things to get their parent's approval." Marinette heard Kitty Section playing their last song. "I better go soon," she said, grabbing her purse and standing up. "It was really nice talking to you."

* * *

XY was laying down on the hotel bed. It's been a few days since he talked to the blue-nette. With nothing else to do, he decided to take a walk.

Paris was a busy city. Even with the akuma attacks, tourism was better than ever. He walked around the city for a few minutes when he noticed Marinette go inside a bakery.

XY was bored so he did what every teenager would do when they see a pretty girl go inside a bakery. 

He followed her.

XY smelt the baked pastries right when he entered the bakery. He looked around for Marinette and noticed her on the counter. He began walking towards her when she noticed him, she made a squeaky noise.

It only made her even cuter.

"XY" she muttered, "What are you doing here?"

He playfully looked at her, "To order something, duh".

Marinette gave him a small smile, "Okay, then. What would you like to order?"

He pointed at what he wanted and talked to her for a while.

Okay, maybe “a while” was an understatement. 

XY waited until her shift was over and asked her if she wanted to take a walk around Paris.

With him. 

She agreed and they hung out for hours before her parents texted her and told him that she had to get home. XY told her goodbye, before quickly blurting out "Can I have your number?" Marinette’s cheeks were red, "I mean because I like hanging out with you and stuff."

Marinette nodded. Not trusting her mouth. What were you supposed to say when a hot musician asked for your number? Marinette gave it to him, before running home.

XY Couldn't believe his luck. She actually gave him her number. He couldn’t help but smile before walking back to the hotel. 

He couldn’t wait to text her.

* * *

"Tikki!" Marinette whispered as soon as she got to her room. "Did that just happen?"

Tikki flew around her, "Yes, Marinette” Tikki sighed. “That actually happened."

Marinette screamed into her pillow. "Chloe would be so jealous of me right now." Marinette scrunched her eyebrows before looking at the red kwami questioningly. "Do you think I should tell my friends about this?"

Marinette might not like Chloe but she has to admit that if Chloe was right about one thing, it was that XY was hot. Like really hot. 

Plus, Marinette really liked the sweet and caring side he showed her. They opened up to each other today. 

They could relate to each other with a lot of their problems.

Tikki looked at her chosen, "Maybe you should keep it a secret for now. We don't want the tabloids to hear about this."

Marinette winced, "Yeah, your right." She remembered the adventure she had with Adrien in her pajamas. 

The media believed that they were dating and Marinette still got a ton of hate comments from it. It only got a little better when both Adrien and Gabriel Agreste denied the fact that both Adrien and Marinette were in a romantic relationship.

XY was easily one of the most well-known musicians right now. Not to mention, one of the most popular. Girls would faint if he so much even glanced at their direction. If the media somehow got the idea that both of them were dating, Marinette would probably get twice the hate she got on social media. And she could not handle that right now.

Especially not with Lila and Adrien around.

* * *

_**1,038 words** _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> XY and Marinette get closer

_**uploaded on 01/23/21** _

XY was staring at the ceiling. A week has already passed. And he still couldn't stop thinking about the day he spent with Marinette. It was the most fun he'd had in a while. 

Before the whole Silencer fiasco, his father would not stop pressuring him to produce a new song. So when they met up for dinner and his dad came up with the idea of stealing someone else's music, he couldn’t bring himself to decline.

XY knew it was wrong. 

But all he wanted was the chance to finally impress his dad. Bob Roth might not have the best attitude towards him, but he was all XY had left. 

Xy already lost his mom. He would not lose his dad too. 

At least, that's what he believed. He should've known that his father was just using him for money. According to his dad, money was the most valuable thing in life. 

XY scoffed. He should've known better. He should've known that all his father thought of hi-

He felt a buzz in his pocket and his face immediately brightened. Marinette just texted him!

**Marinette:** what's up?

**Marinette:** have u been inspired yet?

Marinette gave XY the idea to just sit back and let inspiration hit him. It was a common idea but it was one that most people tend to forget in the long run. 

**XY:** nothing much

**XY:** and nope. 

**XY:** my dad has been pressuring me to come up with something tho

**Marinette:** ignore him

**Marinette:** he's just mad cause he can't get any ladies 

The three dots popped up on his screen.

**Marinette:** OH CRAP I'M LATE 

**Marinette:** TTYL. 

XY rolled his eyes and smiled. 

They've been texting back and forth these past few days. He's learned so many things about her and vice versa. 

It was nice. It's been a while since XY has had a friend. 

Maybe she'll be even more, XY couldn’t help but think as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Huh," XY said out loud. "Even more"

And just like that, inspiration for his next song hit him.

* * *

Marinette was thinking of a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed musician when she heard her phone ring. 

"Tikki!" she screamed, staring at her phone as if it was Hawkmoth himself.. "He's calling me. XY is calling me." 

Tikki sighed and floated next to Marinette, "Maybe you should answer it. It would be pretty rude to keep him waiting."

"Right, right," Marinette answered his call and hoped her voice didn’t sound as squeaky as she thought it did.. "Hey."

"Hey."

There was a moment of awkward silence. 

Marinette didn’t know what to do. She glanced at the small goddess.

Tikki rolled her eyes at their awkwardness as she gestured to the phone. _Ask him why he called you_ , she mouthed to Marinette. 

Marinette nodded. That was a smart idea. "So," Marinette cleared her throat. "Why did you call me?"

"Right, Uhm." Marinette heard him shuffling around his room. "You know how you've been asking me if I was inspired and stuff?"

Marinette's eyes grew wide and a huge smile took over her face as she started to nod before remembering that he couldn't see her. "Yep." she eagerly said, "Did you find any?"

"Yes!" Marinette could hear the excitement in his voice. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to design the outfits for my music video."

Marinette's eyes looked shocked. "Yes!" she jumped around in excitement before remembering she was still in a call with XY. "Why me though?"

XY’s voice sounded confused.. "What do you mean, why you? You're literally perfect for it. You're talented. Plus, everyone loves your designs."

Marinette’s cheeks resembled a tomato. She has never been more thankful for the fact that he couldn't see her right now. 

"Thank you." Marinette managed to mumble. "That really means a lot."

"You're welcome." XY said. Marinette had a feeling he was smiling though. "I have to go and have my dad listen to the demo. But I'll text you later, okay?"

"Yep," Marinette whispered and gave Tikki a cookie. "Good luck. I know that whatever song you came up with is gonna sound good. No matter what he'll say."

Marinette heard a faint "Thanks" from the phone before the call ended. 

Marinette screamed into her pillow and looked up and saw Tikki look at her with amusement. “I think I like him.”

* * *

"So, what do you think?" XY asked as his father finished listening to his song. "Is it bad? Do you think people will like it?"

Bob Roth grinned at his son. "This is a Masterpiece. Where did you find this?" He gestured to the video of XY singing the song, "Who did you steal this from?"

XY's proud smile immediately turned into a scowl. "What do you mean, who did I steal this from?" He yelled at his dad, his blue eyes glaring at him as he grabbed the demo from the table. "I made it. I came up with it myself." XY felt his eyes tearing up. "Something you would actually know if you thought of me as something more than a money-making machine."

_How could he?_ XY thought as he climbed up the stairs. _Is it that hard to believe that I could come up with something good?_

XY slammed his door shut. "All I wanted was to prove to him that I wasn't a talentless son." XY put his hands on his face. "I just wanted to make him proud."

XY felt a buzz in his pocket and immediately knew that it was Marinette. After all, she’s the only one that ever texts him.

**Marinette:** how did it go?

**Marinette:** did he like it?

XY wiped away the tears that were starting to come out of his eyes. He couldn't help but smile. Marinette certainly had an effect on him.

**XY:** he called it a masterpiece

**Marinette:** yes! I knew he would like it. 

**XY:** yeah

**XY:** but then he asked me who i stole it from 

**Marinette:** THAT JERK 

**Marinette:** WTF 

**Marinette:** THAT's SO MESSED UP

**Marinette:** HOW COULD HE- 

**Marinette:** DO YOU WANT ME TO BEAT HIM UP FOR YOU????

XY laughed at her text messages. He only started to text her and he already felt better.

**XY:** no, it's fine

**XY:** i actually yelled at him

**Marinette:** ...

**Marinette:** do you feel better?

**XY:** actually, yep. 

**XY:** he's a really sucky father

**Marinette:** for some reason, a lot of the blondes i know have a toxic parent

**Marinette:** it's kinda sad

**XY:** maybe it's a paris thing 

They texted back and forth, XY laughing at the memes Marinette sent. 

**XY:** You're definitely a daughter of Athena

**Marinette:** ( ⚆ _ ⚆ )

**Marinette:** is that a percy jackson reference i see

**XY:** yep

**XY:** have u read the books?

**Marinette:** duh

**Marinette:** you haven't lived til you've read the books 

**Marinette:** sadly, the movies sucked tho

**XY:** I KNOW 

**XY:** ANNABETH WASN'T EVEN BLONDE

**Marinette:** EXACTLY!!

**Marinette:** SJSJSJSJSJSJ

**Marinette:** THE MOVIES SCARED ME FOR LIFE

**XY:** oh yeah

**XY:** before i forget

**XY:** what's ur insta?

**Marinette:** which one

XY scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion.

**XY:** What do you mean by which one?

**Marinette:** i have two

**Marinette:** one as my personal one and the other one for commissions and stuff

**XY:** ohhh

**XY:** smart 

**Marinette:** i know ;) 

**Marinette:** my personal one is @Mdupaincheng and the one for my commissions one if @MDCdesigns

XY switched his apps and searched up Marinette's personal instagram. He clicked on the first result that came up. 

The profile picture was Marinette in a blue, silky dress that went just above her ankle. There was a slit on her left leg that showed her knee. It was nighttime and Marinette was practically glowing under the city lights. She was staring at something on her right side, with one hand running through her silky black hair which was down for once. 

She looked hot. 

After XY stopped admiring her profile picture, he finally noticed her follower count. 

She had 200,000 followers. 200,000. 

It wasn't as high as XY's follower count, that was still quite a lot. 

* * *

**XY:** i didn't know u were insta famous

**Marinette:** wdym? 

**Marinette:** which acc

**XY:** ur personal one

**XY:** u have over 200k followers 

Marinette thought that she read his text wrong. There's no way that Marinette had that many followers. 200,000? There was no way.

**Marinette:** ur lying 

**XY:** I'm not. 

**XY:** check ur acc

It's been a while since Marinette has logged onto her personal account. The hate she got the last time she's been signed in was too much for her and when Alya told her to log out and just focus on her other account, @MDCdesigns, she couldn't bring herself to argue against her.

Marinette hasn't even thought of that account since that day. So when she logged in and saw that XY wasn't lying, she accidentally dropped her phone in shock.

Tikki looked at Marinette with a questioning look. 

Marinette ignored her kwami and texted the blue-eyes boy back. 

**Marinette:** HOLY SHIT

**Marinette:** I HAVE 200k FOLLOWERS 

**Marinette:** HOW TF DID THAT HAPPEN

**XY:** when was the last time you checked ur acc

**Marinette:** about 3 months ago 

**Marinette:** the media thought i was adrien's gf and his fangirls came at me

**Marinette:** i got a ton of hate and a friend of mine told me to log out and just focus on my @MDCdesigns acc

**Marinette:** so i did 

**Marinette:** i haven't thought abt that acc since then

**XY:** the fangirls were probably just jealous 

**XY:** it's been months so they probably calmed down

**XY:** I'm looking through the comments rn and so far the latest hate comment you've got was about 2 weeks ago

**XY:** you've got a bit of a fanbase yk

**Marinette:** WHAT DO I DO 

**Marinette:** DO I JUST CONTINUE NOT TO POST OR SHOULD I POST SOMETHING ON MY STORY ABT HOW THANKFUL I AM FOR 200k

**Marinette:** HOW COME NONE OF MY FRIENDS TOLD ME ABT THIS

**XY:** don't post anything rn 

**XY:** post a picture of yourself and the caption it something that shows ur thankful for the number of followers u received

**XY:** OH

**XY:** a few hours before u post the picture, make sure u post on ur story abt how ur back from ur break on social media

**XY:** that way ppl will understand why u haven't been active 

**XY:** it'll also have ppl prepared for ur post and they'll be waiting for u to post it 

**XY:** that'll give u more engagement and stuff

**Marinette:** thank u

**Marinette:** that was really helpful

**Marinette:** when should i post something?

**Marinette:** AND I STILL DONT KNOW WHY MY FRIENDS DIDNT SAY ANYTHING ABT THIS

**XY:** u told ur friend that u were taking a break from social media right?

**Marinette:** yes

**XY:** then they probably weren't expecting u to post anything so they weren't checking ur insta 

**XY:** u should post something on the weekend

**XY:** that way ppl wouldn't bother u during school this week 

**XY:** if u want i can help u come up with ideas tomorrow? 

**Marinette:** yes, please!

**Marinette:** do u wanna come over

**Marinette:** we can plan it in my room so that ppl won't overhear us

**XY:** guess I'll see u tomorrow then 

**XY:** just text me the time ur available and I'll be there

**Marinette:** make sure to wear a disguise tho!

**Marinette:** we got lucky last time and no tabloids caught us

**XY:** ur right

**XY:** we must've been really lucky if no one got a pic of us

**XY:** but okay

**XY:** I'll wear my best disguise

**XY:** goodnight, princess

Marinette blinked a few times, making sure she read the text correctly.

Princess. 

**Marinette:** goodnight ♥ 

* * *

_ **1,967 words** _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> XY and Marinette hang out

**_uploaded on 01/28/21_ **

Marinette was sitting on a bench waiting for XY to arrive. She was nervous. Their conversation last night would not leave her head. 

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up. He called me princess. 

When Chat Noir called her that she just felt annoyed. But with XY, it only made her heart beat faster.

"Marinette!" she heard a familiar voice yell. Marinette turned around and noticed XY running up to her. When he finally reached her, he was out of breath. "I've been looking all over for you." He managed to say between gasps.

Marinette looked at him up and down with a bit of disgust. "What kind of disguise is this!" she yelled at him. 

XY was wearing a sage-green crewneck that says 'NIKE' in the middle with baggy jeans and black converse. His outfit wasn't the worst. In fact, Marinette liked it. But what she didn't like were the accessories she chose. He was wearing an obnoxious cowboy hat with huge sunglasses that almost covered the upper part of his face. To make it worse, XY was also wearing an obnoxiously fake mustache.

XY winced at her reaction and meekly said, "A disguise?"

Marinette let out a huff. "I can not believe I am being seen next to you right now. The fashion gods must've cursed me or something."

XY let out a laugh and Marinette had a feeling that he was rolling his eyes at her. Of course, she couldn't be sure because of those hideous sunglasses. XY tugged her arm, "Come on." he smirked. "The faster we get to your house, the faster you won't be seen with a so-called fashion disaster like me."

Marinette scrunched her nose and started walking towards the bakery. "Hurry up." She exclaimed, letting out a small laugh. "I already know that you can't come up with a subtle disguise, but I hope that you aren't slow as well."

* * *

XY was out of breath, yet again, when they arrived at the front door of the bakery. "You're fast." He let out a breath. “That wasn’t fair. I literally ran to the park so I could hang out with you, then you make me run even more.”

Marinette pulled the door open and winked at him. "I know." She gave her parents a quick hug and turned back to XY. "Do you want anything?" 

XY looked at the baked goods and scrunched his eyebrows. "Can I have a croissant and a strawberry macaroon, please?"

He was about to reach for his wallet when Marinette quickly stopped him. "It's on the house." She said reassuringly. XY opened his mouth to protest and Marinette narrowed her eyes and gave him the items he wanted. "It's on the house," she repeated, this time glaring at him.

XY looked at Mrs. Dupain-Cheng for help but she only gave him a smile. "Don't argue with her, dear. She does this for all her friends. She won't take no for an answer."

"My mom's right." Marinette agreed. "Now come on” Marinette tugged his sleeve. “We have plans to make."

Before he could reply, Marinette led him upstairs to her bedroom.

"Woah," XY exclaimed in surprise.

Whatever he was expecting Marinette’s room to look like, it was not this. 

"Why are you so sho-" Marinette stopped talking right when she turned so she could face her room and her face went bright red. She let out a scream of embarrassment. "I swear I thought I put all of this away! I can't believe I forg- UGH!" she let out a huff of frustration. "You think I'm creepy now, don't you." she said, her eyes on the ground. 

XY gave her room another quick glance before facing her. She had Adrien Agreste's face everywhere. There were posters with Adrien's face all over her wall. The wallpaper on her desktop was Adrien. Her room was basically an Adrien Agreste shrine. 

Yet, XY had seen worse. Seeing her room, it was obvious that she has a crush on Adrien Agreste. He held in a scoff. Of course, she does. He thought. Why would she ever like me anyways. I’m a nobody when compared to the so-called sunshine boy of Paris.

XY could feel Marinette's eyes staring at him. He's been silent for a while. 

Marinette probably assumed that he hated her and thought she was a creep. "Nope," XY said, a bit louder than necessary. He winced before he added, "I don't think you're a creep." his voice a bit softer this time. 

"Yes, you do," Marinette stated, her hands hiding her face. "You took way too long to respond."

"I was taking in the scenery." 

"What scenery?" Marinette asked. Though, XY could hear a teasing tone behind it. "My embarrassed face or my even more embarrassing room." Marinette plopped down on her bed. "I thought I took down all the posters and got rid of his face on my desktop." She faced him and smiled sheepishly, "I guess I was so excited to meet up with you that I forgot to take all this-" she gestured around her room "off."

"If it helps," XY tried to say. "This really isn't that bad." When Marinette stared at him as if he grew a tail, he added. "Trust me, I've seen way worse."

And just like that, the tense and awkward atmosphere was gone. 

It was silent for a few seconds when Marinette spoke. "Me and my friend Alya” Marinette wouldn’t meet his eyes again. “We were supposed to take down all my posters and burn them." It was XY's turn to stare at Marinette as she was the one who grew a tail, but Marinette didn’t notice it or she just ignored him. "I'm over him. I actually can't believe I ever liked him in the first place."

"What changed?"

Marinette waved the question off. "I'll tell you later. Now, let's start planning the photo shoot." 

XY stared at her for a few seconds, trying to see if she was telling the truth or not. "Okay.” He surrendered. “But you're telling me everything later."

"Maybe." Marinette teased. "Now come on XY-"

"Xavier." he interrupted. Marinette scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Call me Xavier."

"Oh." Marinette looked at him with a cute smile on her face. "Well come on Xavier," she said his name in a teasing tone. "Let's get planning."

* * *

Planning her 'I'm back cause I didn't realize that I somehow have over 200,000 followers on insta' photoshoot took a lot faster than Marinette thought it would. 

XY, no, Xavier was a natural at it. She guessed it was because he was used to this kind of thing. 

Marinette looked at her pink notebook. It was where she wrote down all the plans they made and the suggestions he gave her. "Thank you so much for helping me!" she exclaimed in excitement. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Xavier took a bite out of his macaroon, "You're welcome. It wasn't that hard anyways, so it's all good." 

Marinette studied him. Technically, she couldn’t take her eyes off of him, but same thing. 

He took off that horrible disguise of his so she could actually see his face. 

Like Marinette said before, Xavier was hot. He had a sharp jawline, which brought out his ocean blue eyes and his golden blonde hair was shining in the sun. 

If Xavier ever asked Marinette who she believed his godly parent was, she would definitely say Apollo. Apollo was often described by Percy as hot. Someone with blonde hair and blue eyes. It also helps that Xavier was a musician.

Marinette let out a dreamy sigh before quickly widening her eyes. She tried to make it look like she wasn't staring at him but it was too late. 

Xavier caught her. He gave her a smirk that practically made Marinette melt and raised an eyebrow. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

Marinette wanted to take him up on that offer. Instead, she forced out a laugh and threw a pillow at him. "Wow. How original."

Xavier rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. 

Could this guy get any hotter?

"So." Xavier said.

"So?" Marinette replied with confusion.

"What's up with you burning down all the pictures of-" he gestured at her posters.

"Oh," Marinette couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes. "That."

"Are you alright?" His voice was soft. 

Marinette looked at him in surprise. 

_Should she lie?_

Marinette couldn’t bring himself to lie to him. He asked her that question with such sincerity. As if he actually wanted to know if she was okay

Instead, Marinette scoffs. "Did you know that you’re the second person who ever asked me that question?"

He didn’t reply.

Stupid. Marinette scolded herself. Why did she say that to him? Now he was going to hate her and think she’s just looking for attention.

Marinette stiffened. Xavier’s arms were around her.

He was giving her a hug. 

Usually, Marinette would be freaking out about someone like him hugging her. 

But right now, all she could do was hug him tighter and finally let go of all the tears that she's been holding in. 

* * *

_**1,528 words** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at writing sad scenes. So don't end up being surprised if my attempted angsty chapters end up being cringy. 
> 
> Also, how do you guys want me to address XY? Do you want me to keep addressing him as XY or Xavier outside of Marinette's dialogue? I tried to address him with his actual name, Xavier, in this chapter. But I don't really know if I like it or not, so please give me your feedback on that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> XY finds out what's been bothering Marinette

**_uploaded on 01/30/21_ **

XY doesn't know how long he's been holding Marinette. He's never seen anyone break down like this before. Especially not in front of him.

He didn't know what to do. 

XY was not the best at interacting with people. But this was Marinette. So he had to try. 

He held her a bit tighter.

If the moment wasn't so serious, he would've teased her about the height difference. 

XY was a whole head taller than Marinette. Her face was buried at his chest. His shirt was probably damp due to all the tears she’s spilled. 

XY led Marinette to her bed and made her sit down. 

Her eyes were red, tears were still falling down her face. She wasn’t moving. 

Just looking at her made his heart break. 

XY squeezed her hand in reassurance, hoping that it’ll remind Marinette that he’s there for her. "Mari," the nickname just slipped. "Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

There was a brief silence. All XY could hear was sniffling.

XY saw another tear roll down her cheek. "Okay," she whispered. "Just give me a minute."

Marinette took a deep breath. XY assumed that it was because she wanted to get herself together before saying anything.

"I just feel like everyone expects me to be this perfect person and I just-." Marinette’s voice cracked, "I just can't."

XY looked at Marinette, his hand not leaving hers as he tried to figure out what to say. "No one's perfect. And the people who expect you to be perfect are just being unreasonable." XY felt her eyes on him. "It's forcing you to have all this unnecessary stress." XY knew he was being hypocritical. Telling her not to feel pressured just because people expect her to be this perfect person. Not to mention that it was easier said than done. "You know, it'll help if you talk to someone."

"Take your own advice." Marinette glanced at their intertwined hands, "Plus, I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

XY was relieved that she seemed a bit better now. Her teasing remarks were back, "So, what else has been bothering you?"

Marinette raised an eyebrow, her eyes were still red. "What makes you think that there's more?"

"Do I need to remind you about the fact that you told me that you were going to use a blowtorch to burn Adrien Agreste?" 

Marinette's eyes grew wide. "I did not say that I was going to burn him! I said that I was going to burn his posters with my friend."

XY waved her off, glad that his remark made her forget that she was crying a few minutes ago. "Same thing."

"Not really."

"Just tell me what he did that hurt you so much." XY paused before adding a "Please?"

"Fine." Marinette stood up. "But it's a long story. So I'll get us some snacks." XY opened his mouth, "You are not going to pay."

"But I-"

Marinette glared at him. "You are a guest. And as a host thingy, I have to provide you with free food."

"Fine," XY muttered. "I guess this is one argument I can't win."

As XY waited for Marinette to come back up, he got struck with a sudden realization. He was there for her. He helped her feel better.

See that dad, I'm not useless after all. 

XY didn't know what Adrien Agreste did to Marinette. But he knew that Adrien had something to do with the breakdown she had a few minutes ago.

Just the thought of Adrien pressuring Marinette to feel like she had to be this perfect person made XY clench his fists.

Shouldn't Adrien know better than to ask someone that? 

Adrien grew up in the spotlight. He should know better than to pressure someone to feel like they have to be perfect all the time. 

So why?

XY clenched his jaw. He had hoped that going to public school would make Adrien a better person. He should’ve known better. 

Adrien Agreste was the exact same person he was years ago.

* * *

Marinette didn't know what to expect when she opened the trapdoor to her room.

She didn't expect Xavier to be going through her designs.

She completely forgot that she left them out in the open like that. Ever since Lila made her threat towards her. Marinette made sure to never leave her designs out in the open like that. 

That meant that Marinette never brought them to school with her. 

Instead, Marinette brought something different with her. A sketchbook that looked exactly like the one that contained her designs. Lila wouldn't even notice the difference. 

As Marinette stared at the scene in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. 

What if he hated her designs?

What if he hated her?

If he hated her, then she wouldn't have someone to talk to anymore. She would be all alone again. 

"Marinette!" Xavier noticed her just standing near the trapdoor and furrowed his brows. "Do you need help?"

Marinette let out a squeak. "You're fine! I mean, I'm fine." Marinette let out a weak laugh. "Don't worry. I got this." 

Xavier turned back to her designs. 

Marinette was ready for him to tell her that he hated them and that she had no talent. She was prepared for him to yell at her. Prepared to hear about how he wasted his time. Marinette was ready for all the hurtful things that he might say to her.

When Xavier opened his mouth, Marinette let her guard up. "These are really good."

Marinette blinked. She thought that she heard him wrong. "What?" she asked.

"I said that your designs are really good," he repeated.

"Really?" Marinette questioned. "You don't hate them?"

Xavier gave her a surprised look. "Why would I hate your designs? You are one of the most talented designers right now." XY grabbed a croissant from Marinette. "Your designs are amazing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Marinette didn't trust herself to talk. So she nodded. Thinking that he thought that highly of her made her smile.

Without even thinking, she gave him a hug.

Xavier staggered back a few steps. His eyes widened in surprise when he found out what was happening. 

Marinette felt her cheeks go red as she let go of the hug. "I'm sorry." she stammered. "I was just so happy and giving you a hug ju-"

Xavier cut her off. "It's fine Mari," He used the nickname he gave her! Marinette felt her cheeks heat up even more. She probably looked like a tomato right now. "Just don't be surprised when I hug you out of nowhere next time."

The thought of Xavier hugging her out of nowhere made Marinette feel giddy. Hoping her face wasn't as red, she looked up at him. "Are you ready to hear about why I want to burn Adrien Agreste?"

Xavier smirked at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Thought you’d never ask"

* * *

He was ready to kill everyone at that stupid school. 

Starting with a model and a liar. 

Then, he'll murder the principal.

He would start a résumé after that. Maybe people will even pay him to kill their enemy or something like that. 

XY couldn't believe that a principal would expel someone without having a proper investigation. Not to mention that finding a knock-off necklace at a locker isn't even a good enough reason. Hell, the lockers didn't even have locks.

Now that XY thought about it, Marinette went to the same school as the mayor's daughter. From what he heard about her, she was a brat. So he guessed it would make sense that the principal would be a doormat.

"You should report this to the school board."

Marinette looked at him as if a Pikachu used a thunderbolt on her. "What?"

"You were bullied for four years at that school. You got wrongfully expelled. Then you get threatened?" XY was furiously pacing back and forth around her room. "You need to report this."

"Chloe's been acting better though." Marinette tried to protest.

XY stopped and lowered his voice, giving it a dangerous tone. "Who cares if she's changed. She still hurt you. And you're still hurting." He pointed out.

"My friend-"

"Your friends believe that liar." XY pointed out. "They might not physically hurt you, but they will mentally." He took a deep breath. "Marinette, I think you need to talk to your two friends," He stopped trying to remember their names.

"Alya and Nino," Marinette supplied.

"I think you need to talk to your friends, Alya and Nino, about this." He stopped pacing around the room. "From what you told me, they believe you." Marinette nodded. "About everything? Even the situation with Adrien?"

"About everything," Marinette confirmed. "Even with the situation about Adrien."

XY let out a sigh. "At least you're not alone in this." He sat down next to her. "I'm surprised they believe you with the Adrien thing though. From what I heard, you guys and Adrien were close."

XY had seen the articles about Adrien's group of friends. Marinette probably noticed all the articles talking about her and Adrien's relationship. The media has been watching the blue-nette for a while now. 

Maybe that's why that liar felt threatened by Marinette. He couldn’t help but smirk. Lila Rossi was jealous.

Marinette got the attention of Gabriel Agreste without him knowing that she was even friends with his son. She turned down an internship with the Style Queen. Someone who is even harder to impress, for the sake of letting her daughter have a good relationship with her mom. 

It also didn't help that Marinette was absolutely gorgeous. 

No one should be able to look that good in pigtails. 

"Xavier?" XY turned his attention back to Marinette. "Okay, good. You're paying attention again. I kinda lost you for a minute."

XY widened his eyes and scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah," he said sheepishly. "I was thinking about something."

He was thinking about her, but she didn't need to know that. 

"As I was saying," Marinette continued before grabbing a macaroon. "I was surprised that Alya and Nino believed me too with the Adrien situation." Marinette swallowed the macaroon. "But she actually overheard one of the conversations Adrien and I had."

"Oh," XY began. "How did she react?"

"She was ready to kill him," Marinette admitted. "She also caught everything on her phone."

XY had a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Please tell me she still has it."

"Uhm, yeah. I think she does."

"Good," XY knew that if that recording somehow got leaked to the press, then Adrien could kiss the so-called-sunshine facade of his goodbye. 

"And that's the story," Marinette muttered.

"Okay, just so I know everything, I'm doing a quick recap. Is that alright?" 

Marinette nodded. "Go ahead."

"So, before Adrien and Alya came to your school, Chloe bullied you for four years and no one did anything."

Marinette interrupted him. "Nino tried to defend me."

"Except Nino," XY added. "But other than him, the teachers, the principal, and your classmates didn't do anything?"

Marinette nodded. "No. They didn't help me."

"I'm gonna go and assume that the principal of that dumb school was scared of the fact that Chloe's father was the mayor." When XY saw that Marinette wasn't going to reply, he knew he was right. If Marinette let him, he would destroy everyone that ever hurt her. "Okay, then fast forward to earlier this year. Alya stood up against Chloe and she helped you gain confidence."

"Keep going," Marinette mumbled when XY was waiting for her to reply. 

"Then, you got a crush on Adrien," He paused, then teasingly said. "Because he let you borrow his umbrella in the rain?"

"A hot guy was letting me borrow his umbrella because he didn't want to see me soaked. That's a good reason to develop a crush towards someone." Marinette retorted.

"Fair enough." XY teased. "So let's say I give you an umbrella-"

Marinette's eyes grew wide and XY could see her starting to blush. "We're doing a recap." Marinette managed to say. "Keep going."

"Fine. So you start to like him, then boom. The Lila girl comes in. You try to convince everyone that she's lying and no one believes you at first. Then she comes back and threatens you in the bathroom. This is around the time Alya and Nino realize that nothing adds up." 

"Then, Adrien confronts me about taking the high road. I agreed with him for a little bit, then she got me expelled. I didn't know why Lila decided to make up a lying disease, but I had a feeling that Adrien had something to do with it." Marinette added. "I asked him about it and he admitted that he had something to do with it." 

XY could see that Marinette didn't wanna talk about the next part so he continued. "When you told him that you guys should reveal her lies now, he screamed and told you no. Then he went on a rant about taking the high road and how he didn't want her to get akumatized." 

Marinette let out a bitter laugh. "And that was the conversation that Alya overheard and how I slowly stopped liking him." Marinette continued to rant to him. "I just can't believe I didn't see this coming. You know? I knew I never had a chance with him, I mean, I'm just me." Before XY could argue against that, Marinette continued. "But I should've known that he was manipulating all of us. When you really think about it, nothing adds up."

"I know," XY mumbled the next part. "He fooled everyone."

* * *

Marinette had no idea how their conversation went from planning a photoshoot to spilling their guts out with each other. 

"When we were younger, he used to be my best friend," Xavier admitted. 

Marinette was shocked. She knew that Xavier didn't like Adrien, but she assumed that it was just a celebrity thing. "Keep going," she whispered.

Marinette noticed that his smile was a bit tight, "You know how his mom's an actor?" Marinette nodded. "Well, she taught him a bit. And he was good at it. Crazy good."

Marinette knew where Xavier was going with this, but she needed to hear it. 

If he admitted it, then the theories going around Marinette’s head would make sense. "Keep going," Marinette repeated, "Please."

"He started to use it to manipulate people." XY continued. "In public, he would pretend to be this innocent kid who could do no wrong. And of course, the press ate it all up." Xavier clenched his fists, "But whenever no one was around. He was the exact opposite. And the worst part is that his parents would encourage his behavior." He met Marinette's eyes before glaring at a poster of Adrien. "There's something wrong with that family." 

Marinette nodded. She couldn't help but agree. She checked her phone. "You have about 30 minutes before you have to go home."

"Wait, already?" Xavier checked his phone to make sure, "How long have we been talking?"

Marinette shrugged, "Like four hours?"

"Oh!" His voice was a bit disappointed. "Before I forget though, thanks again for agreeing to design the outfits for me."

"It's no problem." Marinette stated, "Consider it payback for helping me with everything." 

"But still, thank you."

Marinette remembered that she needed to hear the demo so that she has an idea of what the outfits are supposed to look like. "Did you bring a demo with you, by any chance?" Marinette asked.

Xavier wouldn’t meet her gaze. Marinette noticed that his cheeks were a bit red though. "Yeah." he mumbled.

He handed her a small clear, rectangular box. "Thank you!" Marinette gushed. "We still have time, so we can listen to it together if you want."

"I... -Uhm." 

Marinette looked at him with her big blue eyes. "Please?" she begged.

Xavier sighed, "Fine."

Marinette set it up so that they can both hear it. When the music began to play, Marinette sat down and closed her eyes.

She surprisingly liked it. 

It was good. Really good. 

She opened one eye and asked him, "What was your inspiration? This-" she gestured to the song, "This is really good."

"Oh, um. Thank you."

Marinette raised her eyebrow. "So what's your inspiration?"

Xavier couldn't look at her. "Oh, it was uhm-" He glanced around the room trying to find an answer. But when his eyes met hers, he couldn't bring himself to lie. "You," he murmured. "You were my inspiration."

* * *

**_ 2,766 words  _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all the chapters Ive written so far, this is probably one of my least favorites.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is flustered and XY has a talk with someone

_**uploaded on 02/07/21** _

It’s been a week since XY confessed that Marinette was his inspiration for his new song.

To say that he wasn’t freaking out was a lie. XY hasn’t texted or called her since he ran out of her room. 

“She hates me now.” He groaned out loud. 

XY was a musician. Admitting that Marinette was the inspiration for the song he wrote was basically admitting that the song was about her. And making a song about someone was basically a declaration of love. 

XY groaned again. “Why do I have to mess everything up.” 

He screamed in his pillow with frustration when he heard a knock at his door. 

XY stopped screaming, hoping that the pillow muffled out the noise.

He heard someone knock at his door again. This time, the knocks were more aggressive. 

“Coming,” XY shouted. 

He was a bit mad that someone interrupted his little pity party but he pulled the door open. “Yes?” he asked, looking up to see who the person was. 

He froze in shock. What the fuck did Jagged Stone want with him? 

Jagged Stone’s green eyes were glaring at him. His eyes usually reminded XY of grass on a spring day. But right now? Jagged Stone’s eyes reminded him of an ocean during a storm. 

XY gulped in fear. 

Before XY could open his mouth, Jagged cut him off, his eyes practically piercing through XY’s soul. “What’s going on with you and my niece?”

* * *

Marinette knew her cheeks were red the whole day. 

Whether it was because people kept staring at her because of the Instagram post she posted last night or because of the fact that Xavier told her that she was his inspiration for his new song, Marinette didn’t know.

It’s been a week since Xavier ran out of her room and her cheeks still heated up whenever she thought of the afternoon they spent together. 

He was just so sweet and supportive towards her. And it’s just been a while since Marinette felt so at ease towards someone. He made her happy. 

Too bad they haven’t talked since then. 

Marinette wanted to slap herself. Why was she too scared to text him? Every time she tried, it’s like someone froze her hands and she couldn’t move them. 

Marinette wanted to groan. Every time she tried to think, his face just kept appearing in her head. 

It was a problem. 

She never acted this way with Adrien, so why was it so different with Xavier.

She needs to get it in control soon. She didn’t want another Jagged incident to happen. 

The thought of her talk with Jagged made Marinette want to scream of embarrassment. 

Jagged Stone was commissioning a jacket from her and when she met up with him to discuss what he wanted it to look like, she just kept getting distracted. When Penny noticed and asked Marinette if something was bothering her. 

Marinette just spilled. She tried to stop talking but her mouth had a mind of its own. When Marinette finally got her mouth to stop moving, it was too late. Her honorary uncle and aunt knew everything. 

Marinette felt someone shake her hand. “Marinette,” a voice urgently said. “The lunch bell just rang. Come on. I’m hungry.”

Marinette got up and tried to focus on her friends. She turned to Alya and Nino. “Did I space out again?”

They both nodded. “You’ve been spacing out all week, dudette.” Nino pointed out. “What’s been going through that head of yours?”

Alya gave Nino a nudge and teasingly smiled. “Not what, who?”

The trio sat down at their table. “Wha-? No. Huh?” Marinette squeaked out. “There’s no one! Uh- I mean there’s nothing.” She laughed nervously. “Just commissions and stuff”

Alya raised an eyebrow, “Sure. Marinette. Sure” 

“You know,” Nino butted in. “You never told us we were friends with someone famous.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Instagram thing? Everyone at school is talking about it.”

“Speak for yourself.” Alya gave Nino a smirk. “I knew about it.”

“Of course you did babe.”

“Huh?” Marinette was surprised. She did not know that Alya knew. Why didn’t Alya tell her? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Alya gave Marinette a pointed look. “You would’ve overreacted and freaked out.” Alya’s face grew dark as she gave Marinette a bone-chilling smirk. “Plus, I wasn’t done telling the people hating on you to butt off.”

Marinette gave her best friend a sincere smile. Alya has always been there for Marinette. They had their moments when they were frustrated with each other, but in the end, their friendship always came out stronger. 

Marinette noticed that Nino was silent. She followed his eyes and saw them glaring at Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi. 

Alya scoffed, “Do you think they’re together yet?”

Nino was still glaring at his ex-best friend. “Not yet,” he muttered. “But those two deserve each other.”

Marinette felt Lila glaring at her. She also felt Adrien’s disappointed gaze burning through her back. 

It made Marinette want to turn around and glare at them until they were nothing but mud underneath her shoes. 

How dare Adrien be disappointed in her? 

It should be the other way around. 

Does he have any idea of how devastated Nino was when Adrien broke off their friendship? All because Nino refused to side with that liar. And now he’s “disappointed” at her because she posted a picture? 

Marinette growled. How low can this boy get? Not everything revolves around him and Lila. Once Marinette gets her hands on him, she won’t hesitate to burn the boy alive.

When Adrien finally realizes that he has no choice but to give Marinette an apology, Marinette knows that she will never accept it. He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven after everything she put them through. He fooled them. He used them. He was nothing but a boy with good looks. 

Adrien Agreste would regret messing with them. He could beg them all he wanted but in the end, he’s not worth anything.

He’s not worth anything in Marinette’s eyes. 

He’s not worth anything in Alya’s eyes.

And he’s definitely not worth anything in Nino’s eyes.

Marinette clenched her fists under the table. Adrien and Gabriel Agreste won’t know what hit them when the trio was done with them. 

Marinette gave the sausage haired girl a discrete glance. 

She might not like Lila that much, but she couldn’t help but feel thankful to the green-eyed Italian. Without her, she would still be obsessing over that coward.

* * *

XY was not dead yet. 

He somehow survived an hour-long talk with the Jagged Stone and his scary pink-haired assistant glaring at him. 

How? 

He had no idea. XY was just happy that he would still be able to see Marinette’s gorgeous face again.

He turned his attention back to Jagged who was in the middle of threatening him. 

Jagged looked ready to murder the poor boy. “If you hurt my niece, I will make sure that you can never find a career in music again. I will turn every studio against you so that if they even mention your name, no one will want to work with them either. You will be blacklisted from every company from all over the world.” Jagged Stone’s glare got harsher. “Do I make myself clear?”

XY gulped and nodded in fear. “I would never hurt Marinette.” He said sincerely, his face beginning to heat up. “She’s the best. She’s so talented and I can't even believe that she agreed to design the clothes for my upcoming music video.” He let out a dreamy sigh. “She’s so out of my league.”

Jagged Stone let out a laugh, “Don't I know it, son. No one is worthy of my honorary niece.”

* * *

Penny rolled her eyes and sat down in amusement. She should’ve known that they would end up gushing about how amazing Marinette is. She stared at the two boys in front of her. 

She’ll give it 25 minutes before Jagged tries to adopt XY as his honorary son. 

Penny felt a buzz in her pocket and realized that Marinette texted her. 

**Mari:** please tell me that Jagged didn’t threaten him

**Penny:** too late

**Penny:** you never should’ve mentioned that he wrote a song about you

**Mari:** it was an accident!!

**Mari:** I didn’t mean too

**Mari:** and he didn’t write a song about me

**Mari:** he said that it was inspired by me 

**Mari:** there’s a difference

Penny rolled her eyes. 

**Penny:** sure

**Penny:** i've been working with Jagged for years now

**Penny:** but sure

And if Marinette asked whether the tweet Jagged released had anything to do with anything Penny said?

Penny would never confirm that. 

* * *

How is it possible that XY was having a really entertaining conversation with someone who just threatened him a few minutes ago? 

XY had no idea. 

But he guessed that it was just the Marinette magic. 

One moment Jagged Stone was threatening XY, then the next they were talking about how amazing Marinette was. 

When Jagged asked if his dad knew about his relationship with Marinette, XY basically went on a whole rant about how much his dad sucks. 

XY didn’t mean to. It just slipped. 

He didn’t think that Jagged was annoyed at him for ranting about how bad of a father Bob Roth was. In fact, he seemed to agree with everything XY said. 

“I would adopt you but you might be dating my niece soon.”

XY heard Penny mutter, “I knew it. Too bad I was five minutes short though.”

Since Jagged ignored her, XY did the same. 

XY let out a nervous laugh, trying to contain the blush spreading through his face. “I don’t think Marinette likes me that way, anyway.” Penny turned to him and gave him a pointed look. He rushed to defend himself. “W-we’re just friends.”

Penny and Jagged exchanged glances that screamed ‘not again’.

“Okay, kid.” Jagged retorted. “Why would I come to your room and give you the whole if you hurt her, I will hurt you talk. If she didn’t like you.”

XY gave them a shrug. “I just assumed that you did it to everyone who liked her.”

“If we did that, I would not have time for anything else. Do you know how many admirers my niece has?”

“She has a fan club,” Penny added. “A fan club.”

Jagged looked at XY again. “And that’s just as Marinette. No one but the people who’ve commissioned from her, her parents, and some of her friends know that she’s MDC.” 

Penny checked the time. “We have to go. You have an appointment in 10 minutes.”

Jagged stood up and just before he walked out the door he said, “make sure you ask her before it’s too late. You’re not that bad. And if you ever need to trash-talk your dad, just shoot me a DM.”

When Jagged closed his door, XY wanted to scream into his pillow again. 

What the heck just happened?

The last hour of his life was unbelievable. 

He’s still trying to grasp the fact that it actually happened. 

“Holy shit,” XY muttered in disbelief. “Jagged mentioned that Marinette might like me.”

But why?

Was Jagged lying? 

It didn’t seem like it. Jagged looked serious. 

But why would Marinette like him? She was Marinette and XY was just XY. 

XY was an anime-loving nerd who could basically name every Pokemon from all the regions. Sure girls thought he was cute but that didn’t mean anything. Those girls weren’t Marinette. And Marinette deserved someone special. Someone who wasn’t him.

But what if she did like him. 

Jagged said so himself. And Penny agreed. 

If Penny agreed with jagged, then it must be true. Right? 

Everyone knew that Penny had the brains of the duo. 

With a small smile, XY pulled out his phone. 

If there was a chance that Marinette liked him, XY would take it. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave her a call.

* * *

**Jagged Stone ✓** @JaggedStoneOfficial

_@MDCdesigns_ As a musician, this is me confirming that if a boy says that his new song is inspired by you, that’s him discreetly saying that the songis actually about you.

_#theboyisinlovewithyou_ _#iadoptedhimcausehisdadsucks_

**MDC ✓ @MDCdesigns  
** _@JaggedStoneOfficial_ I am done talking about this

\- view all 5,032 comments

* * *

**MDC ✓ @MDCdesigns**

Good job _@JaggedStoneOfficial_ now i’m officially trending

**Alya ✓ @The Ladyblogger**

Weird timing. Jagged hints at someone writing a song about _@MDCdesigns_ and XY announces that he’s releasing a newsingle soon? Kinda suspicious if you ask me. ****

**MDC ✓ @MDCdesigns**

****I swear to god Alya, I will kill you

\- view all 25,059 comments

* * *

_**2,112 words** _   
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need hugs.

_**uploaded on 02/13/21** _

Marinette was panicking. She couldn't breathe. 

He asked her out on a date. 

Xavier asked her out on a date.

She didn’t know whether she should jump around her room squealing with joy or scream in frustration. 

She didn’t know what to wear. 

“Tikki!” Marinette wailed, “What do I wear?”

The red kwami stared at her chosen with a bored expression. “Just pick one of those outfits.”

The dark-haired girl glanced at the clothes around her room before studying the outfits on her bed. 

“Those clothes aren’t good enough."

Tikki flew towards a dress and pointed at it. “You’re wearing that.”

“But-” Marinette tried to protest.

“You’re wearing that,” Tikki demanded. 

Marinette could not bring herself to argue with the tiny goddess. She was simply too tired. Marinette let out a yawn. “Sorry bout’ this, Tikki,” Marinette murmured. Tikki’s sky blue eyes met Marinette’s tired ones. “I just don’t want to look stupid in from him.”

“You’re not going to look stupid.”

“You sure?”

Tikki rolled her eyes. Her chosen was just so oblivious sometimes. 

How was it possible for someone to be so smart yet so dumb at the same time?

Tikki had no idea. She gave Marinette a glance. 

Marinette was sitting on the edge of her bed looking so defeated. Her shoulders were hunched and her hair was a mess. She was clenching her fists, no doubt believing what she was actually saying about herself.

She looked so broken. 

Tikki quickly flew to Marinette to give her a hug on her cheek. “You won’t look stupid, Marinette.” the flying kwami assured. “And even if you do, he won’t care. He saw all the posters of Adrien in your room, remember?” Marinette nodded and Tikki quickly smiled, “See, and even after that he helped you.”

“I know.” Marinette’s voice wavered. 

As much as Marinette didn’t want to let Lila and Adrien’s remarks get to her. It just didn’t work. It still hurt.

A lot. 

It didn’t help that Marinette read some of the comments on her recent Instagram post. At first, all the comments she saw were so supportive. But as Marinette kept scrolling, the comments quickly got worse. 

It went from people insulting her looks to telling her that she wasn't worth it. That she should just kill herself. There were so many comments telling Marinette that she was just a waste of space. Telling her that she was useless and that no one would ever love her. 

When enough people tell you the same things over and over again, you begin to believe that it’s true.

It only took a few minutes before Marinette was ready to burst into tears. Luckily, she was able to hold it in until the bell rang, telling the student that it was time to go home. 

By the time Marinette shut her trapdoor, her face was streaming with tears. She was stupid. She never should've posted that picture. She should've never listened to Xavier. She should’ve just left it alone.

Marinette glared at her phone. 

Stupid. 

Stupid. 

Stupid. 

Marinette felt tears on her cheeks and knew that her kwami was looking at her with pity. 

It was the same look Tikki was giving her now.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Tikki innocently asked. 

“With those eyes. You feel bad for me. I hate it. I hate feeling like this. I hate feeling useless.”

Tikki shut her eyes before sitting on Marinette’s palm. “XY is right you know.” Marinette tilted her head in confusion. “You need to talk to someone about this.”

“About what?”

“About this.” Tikki’s voice was frustrated. She was a goddess. She was one of the most powerful beings alive. She was creation itself. So how come she can’t keep Marinette happy? “You’re not feeling okay Marinette.” Tikki was close to crying now. “Please.” her voice sounded so desperate it made Marinette want to give her kwami a hug. “Just talk to someone. Anyone.”

“I can't!” Marinette snapped. “There’s no one I can talk to. Nino and Alya won’t understand. They don’t know I'm Ladybug. They won’t understand why I’m so stressed. I can’t talk to Chat Noir because he’s a jerk. He’ll-” Marinette’s voice lowered. “He’ll try to use my emotional state to manipulate me and Xavier-” Marinette let out a harsh laugh. “I don’t want to bother him. He’s helped me enough. Especially since he gave me something to look forward to tomorrow.” Marinette gave Tikki a small smile. “He asked me on a date.”

“Then talk to me,” she whispered, floating next to Marinette’s side. “Please.”

* * *

Growing up, XY had no friends. He was always alone. No one wanted to hang out with him. All he had was his mom and dad. 

XY knew he looked a lot like his mom. Everyone told him that. 

Maybe that’s why his dad hated him.  
  
XY had his mom’s golden blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. People often told XY that he had her soft smile as well.

As he grew up, his mom often told XY that he reminded her a lot of herself when she was younger. Hearing that always made XY smile. He always wanted to be like his mother. 

His mother was the best person he ever met. She was always there for him. She reminded XY that she loved him whenever she could. She played with him when he had no one to hang out with. She gave him a hug whenever a kid was picking on him. And she always gave him the best advice. 

XY thought he would be with his mom forever. 

But she’s gone now. 

XY missed her. 

He missed her smile. 

He missed her laugh. 

He missed how she always gave him a warm hug whenever he went home crying because someone told him that he wasn’t worth anything. 

And most importantly, he missed how she always reminded him that she loved him.

Now?

No one did. 

XY crinkled his nose in disgust. 

He was never close with his father. As he grew up, Bob Roth was just there. He was just another person in the house. 

Looking back at it, XY wished he tried harder to have a relationship with his dad.

At least if he did, he wouldn’t feel so alone. 

XY stared at his arms. He could see the faint outlines of the cuts he used to make after he found out that his mom was gone. 

The cuts weren’t obvious. Just a little scratch whenever he felt like he needed to feel something. 

The pain helped him feel better. 

In fact, you could barely see the cuts now. You would need magnifying glasses to even notice that there was something on his arm. 

XY let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He needed to get over himself. 

He was just XY. A musician that stole music from other people. He was useless. 

XY forced himself to shut his eyes. “Stop it.” he murmured to himself, “These thoughts won’t help you with anything.” He took a deep breath. 

In. 

Out. 

In. 

Out. 

In.  
  
Out. 

XY’s eyes snapped open and he groaned. 

This wasn’t helping. 

His eyes drifted to his phone. Hoping that Marinette sent him a text. 

Nothing. 

What was he trying to convince himself? Marinette didn’t need to text him. She had other friends. 

If he really wanted to talk to her, he should text her. 

But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to bother her with his problems. 

She was dealing with enough. 

He was lucky that Marinette opened up to him about all the drama that’s going on with the Lila girl and Adrien. But he knew that she wasn’t telling him everything. 

He couldn’t do anything about that though. He couldn’t force her to tell him everything. But he wanted to help her. 

The last time they talked in person she looked so defeated. Marinette looked like she was holding the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She hid it well. 

XY only figured it out today. 

His reflection was staring at him through the mirror. His eyes were red and his usual golden hair was dull and messy. He looked pathetic.

But as he continued to stare at himself in the mirror, he knew why wanted to help Marinette so much. 

She reminded him too much of himself right after his mom died.

XY let out a sad smile. Even though she was going through so many things, she agreed to go on a date with him. 

He couldn’t wait to hang out with her. 

Which was why he needed to get himself together. He couldn’t look like a mess in front of Marinette. 

XY didn’t need Marinette to regret her decision to go out with him. 

He couldn't lose her.

Marinette was too important to him. 

He wouldn’t lose anyone he loved ever again. 

* * *

**_1,480 words_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how bad this chapter was. I honestly don’t even know what I was writing, but I hope you enjoyed it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's backstory and the beginning go her redemption, kind of.

_**uploaded on 02/22/21** _

* * *

Chloe Bourgeois was not a good person. 

Everybody knew that. 

People believed that she was nothing but a spoiled brat. 

And in a way, Chloe knew that they were right. 

Her dad was the mayor. She grew up surrounded by the most influential people and she watched as her dad manipulated everyone to get what he wanted. 

She grew up believing it was normal. 

So as the years passed and her parents began to drift apart from her, Chloe did what her dad did best. 

Chloe began to manipulate everyone around her. 

She made Paris believe that she was nothing but a spoiled brat who had her  _ daddy _ wrapped around her pinky finger. 

It was too easy. 

No one questioned her attitude.

After all, Paris only saw a basic white girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. 

It made Chloe want to scream. She wanted a challenge. 

She hated how people immediately did what she wanted them to do just because she threatened to call her dad. 

Do they even know that the laws in Paris said that it was illegal? 

_ How could people be so stupid? _

It took Chloe several days before she decided to use this to her advantage. 

In a matter of weeks, Chloe had everyone in Paris believing that she had no worth. The only thing she was good at was threatening everyone around her, just because she was the mayor’s daughter.

Then, Chloe met Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

Oh, how Chloe loved the tiny pigtailed girl. 

Someone who actually made things interesting. 

Someone who gave her a challenge. 

But as Chloe continued to torment the pigtailed girl, Marinette slowly stopped defending herself.

Chloe didn’t know why. 

She thought that the more she made Marinette miserable, the more Marinette would fight back against her.

_ So why? _ Why did Marinette just accept the awful things that Chloe did to her? 

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. 

Her daddy always told her that the more you push someone towards the edge, the more they’ll push back.

That’s how politics worked!

Marinette was supposed to fight back and then they would slowly become friends. 

Chloe and Marinette were supposed to rule Paris together. 

Side by side. 

The two five year olds were supposed to become sisters in everything but blood. 

It took years before Chloe realized what went wrong with her plan. 

Marinette didn’t grow up with manipulative people.  _ Chloe did.  _

Marinette grew up surrounded by people who loved her.  _ Chloe didn’t.  _

Marinette is a good person.  _ Chloe isn’t.  _

* * *

Everyone knew that Marinette was a bubbly child. 

She was always happy and smiling, even as a baby. 

When she finally learned how to talk, she couldn’t stop. She would walk around the bakery asking people if they needed help. Marinette could always put a smile on everyone’s faces. 

At least that’s what she believed. 

Marinette was excited for her first day of school. She was finally five years old. She could attend  _ école _ . 

She couldn’t wait to make friends.

Her papa even let her take a pack of macarons from the bakery so that she could share them with her class. 

Her papa told her that a good way to make friends was to give them food. 

And he was right!

Everyone wanted to be Marinette’s friend. Even when she didn’t have food to give them. 

They still wanted to get to know her. It was really fun. 

Marinette never noticed the blonde girl from the back of the room staring at her with her calculating blue eyes.

As the weeks passed, Marinette began to realize that something was wrong. 

It started off small. 

But then it began to become more obvious.

Her friends began to ignore her. 

But Marinette could tell that they didn’t want to, she could see the fear in their eyes. 

But why? 

Marinette didn’t think she looked scary. Her mama and papa always told her she was cute. 

Marinette’s eyes looked around the room and noticed that a blonde girl was staring at her. 

Marinette’s dark blue eyes met the girl’s light ones. 

The girl raised an eyebrow at her. As if asking,  _ what do you want? _

Marinette looked away and asked the boy next to her, Ryan, if he knew the girl's name. 

The dark-skinned boy stared at her with his green eyes as if she was dumb and muttured a quick, “Chloe. Her name is Chloe Bourgeois.”

Marinette felt her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion. Why did that name sound so familiar? 

She tapped her pencil against her desk. 

_ Tap.  _

_ Tap. _

_ Tap. _

_ Chloe was the mayor’s daughter.  _ Marinette realized, her blue eyes were wide and she turned to look at the blonde again.  _ She’s pretty.  _

Ryan caught her staring at Chloe. “Don’t talk to her.” 

Marinette looked at him with bewilderment. “What? Why?” 

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?” Marinette didn’t know anything. She didn’t even know that Chloe was in her class at all. She never noticed the blonde until now!

“She told everyone to stop hanging out with you.” Ryan slowly told her. 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t even know her.” 

“Well, she doesn’t like you.” 

“But why would she not like me if I don’t even know her.” 

“I don’t know.” Ryan repeated. “Look. I already took a risk by even talking to you.” 

“Wha-”

Ryan interrupted her. “Stop talking to me!”

The whole class stared at them and Marinette felt her cheeks heat up. She heard her teacher’s booming voice ask, “What’s going on there?” 

Ryan pointed at her. “She keeps talking to me even though I told her to stop, Ms. Delgado.”

_ Snitch.  _

Ms. Delgado’s dark brown eyes glared at the five year old. “Marinette, we are learning right now. You can talk to him during recess.” Her teacher pointed at the problem on the board. “Since you keep talking, I’m guessing that means that you know what we’re doing.”

The pigtailed girl shook her head. “No, I don’t know what we’re learning about.” 

“Ma’am.” 

Marinette clenched her fists, “No, I don’t know what we’re learning about  _ ma’am. _ ”

“That’s what I thought.” Marinette lowered her eyes so that her teacher couldn’t see them. “As punishment, you will stay here five minutes after I dismiss everyone for recess.” Marinette gulped. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her. “Am I understood?”

Marinette could only whisper a quick, “Yes, ma’am.”

Things only got worse after that. 

Marinette didn’t know what happened during the five minutes she missed but no one could even look at her. Whenever she tried to talk to another kid, they would ignore her. Some would even glare at her. 

Marinette didn’t know what she did wrong. She wasn’t the first person to get in trouble. So why was everyone only ignoring her and not the other kids that got in trouble too. 

It wasn’t fair. 

Why didn’t anyone like her anymore? 

She didn’t even notice someone approaching her until it was too late. 

“What a crybaby.” she heard a girl scoff. 

Marinette didn’t even notice that she was crying. She tried to wipe the tears from her face but it was too late. She glanced up and saw the blonde girl glaring at her. “What do you want?” Marinette’s voice was hoarse. 

“From you? I want nothing.” The way that Chloe was looking at her made Marinette uncomfortable. “I thought I had competition but looking at you right now, you’re just pathetic. Even more pathetic than the macaroons you brought to school on our first day.” Chloe let out a shrill laugh. “You’re worth nothing.”

As Chloe started to walk away, Marinette found her voice. “I am not pathetic. I’m not the one who made people stop being friends with me because they were jealous.”

Chloe’s icy blue eyes glared at Marinette, “Jealous? Why would I be jealous of you?” Marinette opened her mouth to reply before Chloe cut her off, “Trust me. No one wanted to be friends with you anyways. I just gave them a reason to stop.”

“You’re lying!” Marinette protested. Her tiny body was shaking. “They were my friends. And they wanted to be my friends until you opened your big stupid mouth.”

Chloe walked towards Marinette. Every step forward that Chloe made, Marinette took a step back. 

A few seconds later, Marinette felt her back against a wall. She saw Chloe smirk. “Pathetic and stupid.” Chloe taunted. “You really are just a baker’s daughter.” Marinette felt her eyes tearing up and judging by the way Chloe was walking closer towards her, Marinette knew that Chloe noticed. 

Marinette waited for Chloe to say something but she didn’t. Instead, Chloe was just staring at her. “You’re wrong.” Marinette spat out. “You’re wrong.”

She saw Chloe smirk before she began to walk away from her. “We’ll see. Marinette. But trust me,” Chloe’s eyes met hers. “It’ll only get worse from here.”

* * *

Chloe knew that she didn’t deserve Marinette’s forgiveness. She made her  _ école  _ years a living hell. 

Chloe made sure that no one wanted to be her friend. 

And the sad part was that it was too easy. 

If they were her actual friends, then they would’ve at least tried to argue against Chloe. But nope. They didn’t even care. They just let it happen.

People would argue that they didn’t know any better.  _ They were just kids,  _ everyone would say,  _ it was their first year of attending school. They didn’t know any better.  _

It made Chloe want to scoff. Those  _ kids  _ watched as she humiliated Marinette over and over again. 

For six years. 

Sure, they were probably scared of Chloe because of who her father was. But all Chloe told them was to ignore Marinette. Make sure that she doesn’t have friends. 

That’s it. 

Of course, the last threat didn’t even matter because Nino befriended her. But at least it gave Marinette a bit of her fire back. 

Too bad it was nothing more than a weak flame. 

It was so weak that Chloe would’ve blown it out with a swish of her ponytail.

Honestly, Chloe knew that she should’ve stopped tormenting Marinette right after she stopped defending herself. 

But it was too late. 

The friends that Marinette made during the first few weeks of school loved the fact that they could do anything to Marinette and they wouldn’t get in trouble. 

This happened a few years after Chloe made her first threat against Marinette. They were in what, their final year of  _ école.  _

Chloe made sure that everyone stayed in the same class during their years of  _ école.  _

Did she regret it? 

Yes. 

Did it teach Chloe anything? 

Yes. 

Those six years Chloe spent with the class, she promised herself one thing. 

She would never be gullible in making friends. 

The people that Marinette once called her friends, made her final year a living hell. 

They treated her worse than Chloe ever did. 

Way worse. 

All Chloe did was torment Marinette verbally. 

She never pretended to be someone’s friend only to stab them in the back. 

Chloe had standards. 

Plus, Chloe never meant for things to go that far. 

So when Marinette wasn’t in the classroom, Chloe did what she knew best. 

Manipulate the people around her. 

Chloe didn’t know if Marinette noticed the difference in the class dynamic, but it was the least she could do. 

In the next year, Chloe would never see the imbeciles around her again. It would only be Chloe, Marinette, and Nino who would be attending Francois Dupont. 

Chloe would have a fresh start. Then she would slowly begin to redeem herself. And she would apologize to Marinette. 

So, as Chloe sat on the edge of her bed, her phone in her hand. She finally liked the picture that she’s been staring at for the past few minutes.

After all, it was the least she could do.

* * *

**_1,968 words_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know why i wrote this. It definitely wasn’t what i expected to write but my mind wanted to write it so I did. Does this chapter make sense though? I honestly have no idea. I just wanted Chloe’s walk towards redemption to start. Sorry for the late chapter though. I had a very off week. Freshman year of highschool sure is fun!


End file.
